


Blood and Company

by being_alive



Series: Tumblr Requests [2]
Category: Romeo And Juliet - All Media Types, Romeo And Juliet - Shakespeare, Romeo et Juliette - Presgurvic
Genre: F/M, Older Man/Younger Woman, POV Third Person, Pre-Relationship, Tumblr Prompt, Vampire AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-08 08:48:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21473287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/being_alive/pseuds/being_alive
Summary: Many years ago, the people of the village by the name of Verona would come to Escalus's castle to seek his protection. The reasons varied from person to person, but they came nonetheless. However, as the years passed, the number of people seeking his protection had slower dwindled.Until tonight, and the shivering girl in the red coat who had shown up at his door not long after the sun had set.
Relationships: Juliet Capulet/Escalus (Romeo and Juliet)
Series: Tumblr Requests [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1528748
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Blood and Company

**Author's Note:**

> This was requested by [shadowofthemoth](https://shadowofthemoth.tumblr.com)/[ellenoruschka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellenoruschka), featuring the prompts numb and protection from [this](https://ilovedyouevenasisawyou.tumblr.com/post/185209070221/trickormemes-one-word-writing-prompts-send-me) list.
> 
> This can also be found on my [tumblr](https://ilovedyouevenasisawyou.tumblr.com/post/189138878271/4-26-for-escaliet-if-you-dont-mind-im-so).
> 
> Thank you for the prompts! I'm so sorry for the delay, really, and for the fact that this just sort of...ends. <strike>Maybe someday I can add a part two?</strike>
> 
> But, even so, I hope you like it!

Many years ago, the people of the village by the name of Verona would come to Escalus's castle to seek his protection. The reasons varied from person to person, but they came nonetheless. However, as the years passed, the number of people seeking his protection had slower dwindled. 

Until tonight, that is, and the shivering girl in the red coat who had shown up at his door not long after the sun had set.

"So the legends are true," the girl says, looking at him with wide brown eyes. Her cheeks are flushed pink, and there are tiny snowflakes caught in her eyelashes.

"Yes," he replies, simply, unsure of what else to say.

"In that case, I have come to ask you for your protection," the girl says, tilting her chin upwards and placing her hands on her hips before continuing, though much less confidently, "You do still do that, right?"

"Yes," Escalus replies, again, still unsure of what else to say.

"Good," the girl says, with a nod, and he can't help but to peer at her curiously, wondering just what it is that had driven her to come here.

"There is a price, however," Escalus begins, almost reluctantly. The girl nods, brown gaze turning completely serious, and replies, "I thought there would be. What is it?"

"Blood," he says, simply, and then adds, almost guiltily, because this hadn't been one of the stipulations, long ago, but he's found himself growing lonely recently, "And company."

"Company?" the girl nearly squeaks, eyes growing wide again, and it is then that he realizes the possible other insinuation of the word.

"Not _that_ kind of company," he quickly assures her, and can see the relief clear on her face. After a moment, he continues, "Simple friendly companionship, and nothing more."

"I can do that," the girl says, with a small smile. She's shivering, he realizes then, and can't help but to feel a twinge of guilt. He stopped being bothered by the cold centuries ago, and he no longer needs light to see either, so he's long since stopped keeping any sort of fire burning in this castle. 

_Until now_, he decides, and with a wave of his hand, fire burns to life in the empty fireplace. When he was younger, he'd struggled with his control, with the charred wing of the castle standing testament to this, but now it's a small feat for him to keep this flame burning even in the absence of any kindling. The girl looks from him to the fire and then back, eyes wide once more and mouth open in a small _O_ of surprise before hurriedly dashing over towards the fire.

He watches as the girl sits down in front of the fire, setting her bag down and tossing back the hood of her red coat as she does so. In the light of the fire, her hair shines a shimmering gold that he finds his gaze instantly drawn to. Her hair isn't as bright a yellow as it would be in the sunlight or in modern electricity, but it's been a long time since he's seen something that bright regardless. 

Unwittingly, he finds himself taking a step towards her, as if drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

"I'm Juliet Capulet," the girl tells him, looking up at him, startling him from his reverie. The snowflakes in his lashes have melted, he notes absently to himself.  
Long ago, he'd been a prince, or maybe a count, he can't quite remember, but now, simply, "Escalus."

"It's nice to meet you, Escalus," the girl, no, Juliet says, holding up one of her hands towards him.

"Likewise," he replies, bending to take her hand in his before pressing his lips to her knuckles. Her skin, even chilled from the weather outside, is still warm against him. As he releases her and stands up straight again, she says, her cheeks flushed an even brighter pink than before, "Oh! I thought we were just going to shake hands."

"My apologies," Escalus states, simply, his brows drawing together. Juliet laughs, quickly and almost nervously before saying, "No, no, this was fine too."

He takes a step backwards, away from her, and says, "Take a moment to get warm, and then I'll show you to your room."

"Thank you," she says, smiling a small smile at him before turning back to the fire. He stands back and simply observes her, until finally, she stands. She picks her bag up and turns to look at him, expectantly.

"This way," Escalus tells her, starting off towards one of the staircases. He can get the sound of her footsteps, so he knows she's following him as he leads her up the stairs, down one hallway, down another hallway, and finally to stand in front of a tall door. After he opens it, he turns to Juliet and says, "After you."

With a hurried _thank you_, she makes her way into the room. 

Only when she looks around the room, eyes narrowed in the strain of attempting to see through the darkness does he remember that she can't see quite as well at night as he can. 

With a wave of his hand, the candles in the room become lit and a fire blazes to life in this room's fireplace. Juliet turns towards him, something resembling wonder in her brown gaze, before turning back to survey the room properly now that it's been illuminated by the candles and fireplace. While this is one of the nicer rooms in the castle, with fine and ornate furnishings, it also happens to be covered in a fine layer of dust, which he grimaced at and apologizes for.

"It's fine," Juliet assures him, with a tentative smile. Escalus simply nods in response and watches as she sets down her bag before going and sitting on the bed. As she continues looking around, he finds himself caught in an internal debate as to whether he should wait for her to get better settled in before asking for recompense, so to speak, or to collect his payment now.

All his better instincts tell him to at least let her sleep first, but, alas, his hunger gets the best of him, and he finally asks, keeping his tone as gentle as he can, "May I see your wrist?" 

Juliet looks confused for the briefest of moments, but then he sees the light of realization in her eyes. Even so, she nods and offers him her wrist. Irrationally, he can't help but to feel a brief flash of fondness for her in this moment, at this gesture. He sits down beside her on the bed, and reaches for her arm. 

Gently, he pushes the sleeves of her jacket and the shirt underneath up and then brings her arm closer to his mouth. He pauses, taking a moment to simply savor how _alive_ she smells, and then, as delicately as he can, presses first his lips against her skin and then his teeth into her skin. He can hear her gasp above him, but he pushes the sound away, because it's been so long since he's had blood this freely given, and it's good, so good, to feel the warmth on his tongue.

Escalus doesn't want this to end, but finally and reluctantly, so as to not take too much, he releases her wrist and pulls away. He stands and wipes his mouth on the back of his sleeve, ignoring the way Juliet's red blood smears across the worn brown fabric in favor of watching as she falls back against the bed, clutching her wrist close even though the marks from his teeth have already closed and disappeared to mere pinpricks.

He can remember how it had felt, even now, when the one who had changed him had first put teeth to his flesh, the way pain had blossomed before giving way to heat and then finally numbness and tiredness. Juliet blinks groggily up at him as she asks, "Escalus?"

"Sleep now," he tells her, and watches as her brown eyes slowly close before he turns away. He walks away from the bed, but pauses in the doorway to glance back at Juliet. She's asleep now, he sees, so he simply waves his hand to put out the candles before walking fully out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Juliet is human, he remembers as he lingers by the closed door, so that means that she requires more than just blood to survive. He realizes then that this means he'll have to make a trip to the night markets, and can't help but to sigh. It's not as if he dislikes the night markets, because in fact he'd established the night markets not long after he'd been turned, and today, they remains his one tenuous connection to life outside of his castle, but even so, he'd still prefer to stay in his castle.

But first, he'll need a coat, if for no other reason than to make an attempt to keep up appearances. Escalus quickly makes his way down the long hallway and to his own bedroom. He knows the cellar would probably be more practical for his _needs_, but this is the room he's called his since he was a child, and he finds himself oddly fond of it. Besides, he's long since had the windows filled in with stone blocks, so it's not as if he's in danger, or at least not in this room. Once inside his bedroom, he makes his over to the wardrobe.

He opens the doors of his wardrobe, and surveys the clothing within. Everything he owns is centuries old and in varying stages of decay, owing in part to age and in part to moths. With a sigh, he selects a long coat with the amount of moth-eaten spots, and pulls it on over his similarly moth-eaten brown and tan suit. Once he has it on, he straightens and is about to simply leave the room when he instead has a different idea. Escalus is aware of the superstition surrounding vampires and mirrors, but thankfully that's one legend that rings untrue.

Or perhaps not so thankfully, as he looks at himself in the mirror, because what he sees is a pale man in a tattered suit, with grey streaking through his brown hair and shadows underneath underneath his tired hazel eyes. He looks nothing like what a prince or a count or a _whatever_ should, and even though he knew this before looking in the mirror, it still disappoints him to see himself like this. With a sigh, he tears his gaze away from the mirror and makes his way from his room. 

He'll need to shop quickly, he knows, if he wants to safely return home before sunrise, so he does. He makes it to the markets in record time, even for him, and begins to browse as best as he can while also keeping his gaze lowered so as to not reveal the flashing of his eyes whenever he passes through the more brightly lit spots. Some of the things available here have changed drastically over the years, he notes to himself, but others, much as himself, have remained the same. He buys food of many varieties, from bread to seasonal produce to even various canned goods, paying for all with slightly outdated but still acceptable currency, and then heads back to the castle, burdened by many food-filled bags. The sun is just beginning to rise as he's finally able to close the doors to the castle behind him, and he takes a moment to halfheartedly congratulate himself on his timing before walking farther into the castle.

Escalus deposits the parcels in his long-defunct kitchen and then makes his way back to his bedroom to wait not only for the sun to set but also for his guest to rise.


End file.
